Do visa-free travellers need China’s arrival card in 2026?
By the MyChinaTrip team · checked 17 oct 2026Yes, ordinary visa-free tourists still fill in an arrival card before entering mainland China. Complete it online or use the paper or device option at the arrival port.
您好，我来中国旅游，需要填写外国人入境卡。我无法完成网上填报，请问在哪里可以领取纸质入境卡，或者使用现场设备填写？这是我的护照和行程。谢谢！
Meaning: I am visiting China and need an arrival card. I could not complete it online. Where can I get a paper card or use a device here? Here are my passport and itinerary.
At a glance
- Official website: https://s.nia.gov.cn/ArrivalCardFillingPC/entry-registation-home. Use the embassy-linked address to reach the official form. [1]
- Other official routes include NIA’s Government Service Platform, NIA 12367 app and WeChat/Alipay mini-program. [1]
- Prepare your original passport, actual arriving transport, departure plan and first accommodation details. The MFA recommends carrying transport and accommodation proof matching your visit’s purpose. [2]
- There are seven published card-exemption categories; ordinary individual visa-free tourism is not itself one of them. [1]
What to do next
- Open the official address above before travel, or use the official NIA route linked in the sources. Enter your real passport and journey details. Have the passport, transport confirmation and accommodation booking together while filling it, so names and dates agree.
- Use your actual arrival into mainland China. For a Hong Kong–mainland train journey, work from the booked train and actual border port, not your earlier international flight into Hong Kong. If the form’s options do not match your document or journey, show staff the booking rather than invent a flight or port.
- Save the completed submission or confirmation the official service gives you. Keep it accessible offline alongside your accommodation address and onward booking. The card communicates your information; it does not grant a visa or pre-approve a transit route. Border inspection still decides admission.
- If online filling fails, complete it on arrival by scanning the port’s QR, using its smart device, or asking for the paper arrival card. Those are explicitly published alternatives. You do not need to solve an app installation problem in the immigration queue before asking staff for the paper route.
- At inspection, explain which entry route you are using and show the corresponding documents. For 240-hour transit, have the confirmed onward ticket ready and complete the temporary-entry procedure, including its required arrival information. Follow the officer’s directions if a separate temporary-entry form is requested.
30-day nationality list and expiry dates
You qualify for ordinary 30-day entry: the unilateral list is Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Uruguay. Ordinary passports, qualifying short visits and the stay limit still apply. The 48 countries other than Russia and Brunei are covered through 31 December 2026; Russia through 31 December 2027; Brunei has no announced expiry. The 30 calendar days start the day after entry. [2] [3]
240-hour nationality list and time limit
You use 240-hour transit: eligible nationalities are Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam. You need confirmed onward travel to a different country or region, an eligible port and permitted inland route. The clock starts at 00:00 the next day; the cited policy has no announced end date. [4]
Eligible transit ports
Transit has 65 designated entry ports: examples include Beijing Capital/Daxing, Shanghai Pudong/Hongqiao, Guangzhou Baiyun, Shenzhen Bao’an, West Kowloon railway port, Hengqin and Mohan railway port. The full 65-port list is in our related visa-free-versus-transit answer and NIA’s table below. Guangdong has an exit exception covering all open ports in the province. [6]
Permitted transit areas
Whole jurisdictions: Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Fujian, Shandong, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Hainan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Shaanxi. Limited areas: Shanxi—Taiyuan/Datong; Heilongjiang—Harbin; Jiangxi—Nanchang/Jingdezhen; Guangxi—Nanning, Liuzhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang, Yulin, Hezhou, Hechi, Laibin; Sichuan—Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Yibin, Ya’an, Meishan, Ziyang; Yunnan—Kunming, Yuxi, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu’er, Xishuangbanna, Dali, Lijiang. Cross-province visits within these areas are allowed. [6]
If your situation is different
You stay airside for no more than 24 hours: direct transit without leaving the port’s restricted area is one of the arrival-card exemptions. A plan to leave the airport changes that branch: request temporary entry permission and follow its paperwork requirements.
You hold a different entry document or travel with a qualifying group: the other six published exemption categories are PRC Foreign Permanent Resident ID holders; holders of a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong/Macao Residents (Non-Chinese Citizens); group-visa or qualifying group-visa-free travellers; passengers entering and leaving on the same cruise ship; fast-lane entrants; and foreign crew/employees of exit-entry transport vehicles. Do not assume ordinary tourist status puts you in those categories.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the card because your nationality is visa-free: ordinary individual visa exemption and the seven arrival-card exemptions are separate lists.
- Treating an online submission as permission to enter: carry the documents supporting your visa or exemption and complete border inspection.
- Inventing a hotel address when an airline has not assigned the transit hotel: ask the airline for the actual allocation, or explain the unresolved arrangement to border staff. Carry the hotel-service confirmation you do have.
- Assuming online-only processing: keep the published paper/device fallback in mind and ask staff for it.
Quick questions
Is the arrival card a visa application?
No. It supplies arrival information; admission still depends on the visa or exemption and inspection.
Can I complete it after landing?
Yes. The official notice permits the port’s QR or smart-device route and paper cards when you have not completed it online beforehand.
Does my Hong Kong visit cover mainland formalities?
No. Prepare for your actual mainland entry and its applicable visa/exemption and card requirements; do not use the Hong Kong arrival as the mainland entry record.
Where can I ask about an unusual case?
The embassy publishes NIA consultation at +86 10 12367. Have your passport nationality, document type, exact ports, dates and onward itinerary ready so the answer can address your trip.